Black bass found in Kanna Dam

Officials at the Okinawa Prefectre General Bureau said on Oct. 12 that they have discovered a black bass in the Kanna Dam in Ginoza Village. They suspect that someone transplanted the fish that is native to North America and a prized game fish into the dam.

This marks the first time that a transplanted bass has been found in a dam controlled by the Japanese government.

It is illegal to transport and introduce a foreign species into the wild in Japan. Officials at the Northern Dams Joint Control Office point out that releasing a foreign fish into the dam is likely to disrupt the local ecosystem and cause irreparable damage to local species.

A patrol staff found the fish on August 23 in Kanna Dam, and a specialist who was present identified the fish. The office says someone must have released the fish into the dam.

They are also anxious about the damage expanding in the case the fish was released into the dam in the northern area because some of the dams in the northern Okinawa are connected to other dams by underground tunnels for adjustment of the water levels.

Another specimen of black bass was found earlier in Kurashiki dam in Ishikawa, Uruma City.

The black bass’ effect to other species is considered to be large because it eats other fish and anything alive in large quantities.